A Dragon Keeper
by yellow 14
Summary: A dragon keeper muses on his life looking after dragons on a reservation. Written for HedwigBlack's Weekly Challenge.


Disclaimer: Don't own and never will.

AN: Written for HedwigBlack's Weekly Challenge. This week, it's Charlie Weasley.

Charlie smiled as he watched Norberta settle down on top of her eggs. His mother might not like him working with dragons, (although he knew it was because she worried about him) but he was proud of the skill and compassion that he put into his work.

For Norberta, it had been a case of persuading her to calm down when she started laying. Normally she would have observed her mother laying eggs and known full well what was going on. Norberta was unfortunate enough not to have ever known her mother and although Charlie had no doubt that Hagrid had done his best, he wasn't a dragon and Norberta had recognised that straight away.

So after a lot of work, Norberta was calmed down, with meat and blue flames set at different angles, she eventually calmed down.

Then there was the latest batch of dragon eggs. These ones had been stolen from the nest of a dragon and the dealer had been caught trying to smuggle them out of the country. Charlie's blood burned as vividly as his hair when he discovered that the man responsible had used his contacts in the Romanian ministry to avoid a jail sentence. And it was Charlie's turn to play the role of surrogate mother to them when they hatched, not an easy task as baby dragons telepathically bonded with their mothers from birth. That's why it was impossible to keep dragons as pets; humans simply didn't have the means to bond with the dragon hatchlings.

His mother fretted and worried about him, worried about his safety and worried about his future. She seemed to think that if he had a wife or at least a serious girlfriend, he might take fewer risks, be more willing to take a desk job. But Charlie never knew anyone who made him feel that he WANTED to settle down. There were a few lovers, girls who were only interested in a good time and made for a pleasant distraction, but nobody special.

And it was almost impossible for someone to understand just how PROUD a man could be when he saw a dragon that he raised from an egg to adult become a part of the reservations population. Only another dragon worker could understand and the only girl on the reservation was more interested in girls than boys.

"Oi, Weasley, you're needed in the hatchery! Those eggs look like they're about to start the hatching cycle!" a tall muscular man, a new bloke whose name he could not remember, called over to Charlie and he was suddenly pulled away from his musings.

"What! They're not due to start for a few days yet! When did they start?" he practically shouted as he struggled to remember the man's name.

"A few minutes ago. Better hurry, it looks like they're getting ready to pop soon," he said with concern. "Those eggs must have been further along than we thought."

"Thanks," Charlie said as he rushed to the hatchery, his heart already beating double time. Practically sprinting across the grass covered ground, he charged into the hatchery.

"Just in time Mister Veasley, just in time," Karl Bernholt said as he looked over to Charlie with dark brown eyes. "It appears zat der eggs were further along zan ve thought."

Charlie was saved from having to respond by a loud cracking noise as the first egg hatched and a disgruntled-looking black dragon emerged. Another and another quickly followed him, until several small dragons were glaring up at the two men.

"Congratulations Mister Veasley, you have a healthy father of a batch of baby dragons," Karl said as he examined them carefully. "Good thing they take after their mother, ja? They'd look as ugly as zhou othervise."

Charlie smirked as he watched his friend get bitten on the finger and curse.

"Should've kept your eye on them, they take after their mother in temperament to," Charlie said with a smirk as he leaned over and picked up the offending dragon and looked him in the eye. "You've made us proud little one. Keep it up."

The dragon growled and Charlie laughed as he reached over to one of the artificial dragon milk bottles. With a practised flick of his wrist, he opened the bottle and started feeding the young dragons with a smile. It was at time like this that he was proud to work with dragons.


End file.
